Iranian actress Leila Hatami has apologised for giving the Cannes film festival's president Gilles Jacob a peck on the cheek.

According to state news agency IRNA, the 41-year-old beauty, who was on the jury this year at the annual Cannes festival, wrote a letter to Iran's cinema organisation stating that she's sorry for hurting people's feelings, News.com.au reported.

She added that Jacob, 83, "had forgotten the aforementioned rules, which comes with old age" and even though she tried to shake hands, she could avoid the Cannes President's gesture.

Hatami, who's known for her 2012 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film 'A Separation', continued saying that she saw Jacob only like a grandfather who was also her host at the event.

Earlier, a photograph carried by Iranian media showed the actress greeting Jacob in the customary French way at the opening of the, which prompted a reprimand as according to Iran's interpretation of Islamic law, a woman is not allowed to have physical contact with a man outside her family.